Staying secure on Cyber Monday

Many shoppers will be going online to look for holiday deals, and Sandy Chalmers with the state Division of Consumer Protection says that means a lot of criminals will be doing some shopping of their own. Chalmers says identity thieves and those just looking to steal credit card numbers know how profitable this season can be.

Chalmers says one of the more common scams to watch out for is deals being sent through email or by text message. She says they may look like they are from a retailer, but clicking the link could be dangerous. Victims will either be sent to a fake version of a retailer’s website or the link could just download malicious software. Either way, your personal information could be at risk.

Chalmers says it’s not that hard for criminals to replicate a major retailer’s website to try and steal credit card information. If you see an advertised deal, she says it’s usually best to go directly to a retailer’s site through a search engine, instead of clicking a link.